Naegiri Week 2019
by budewfan
Summary: A collection of stories for Naegiri Week 2019 that tie into a bigger project I'm working on. Day 1: Ill, Day 2: Puzzle, Day 3: Stars, Day 4: Plant, Day 5: Fidget, Day 6: Flutter, Day 7: Investigate Currently T, might change to M depending on what I decide for future prompts Cross-posted to AO3 Cover Image by doodlefox2 on Tumblr
1. Day 1: Ill

Makoto knew how much trouble he was in as soon as he woke up. Kyoko had warned him countless times to head inside every once in a while during his volunteer work, but he hadn't listened, and now he could feel his throat and nose backing up with mucus.

"Might as well see how well I can function," he muttered to himself, groaning as he forced himself out of bed. The Ultimate Lucky Student shambled across his dorm, making his way to the bathroom. After a warm shower, he felt someone better, but knew he'd need at least a surgical mask if he were to head out, lest he get a stern talking-to from Kiyotaka. Despite it being Sunday, Class 77 had agreed to meet at a nearby park to discuss plans for a Christmas party, their first as students at Hope's Peak. It had been suggested by Sakura the previous day as a way to become closer with one another. Everyone agreed on having a party, but the finer details were up for debate, hence the meet-up. After getting some medicine from the nurse's office, Makoto made the 10-minute walk the park.

"I told you so," Makoto heard Kyoko say as he approached the park. Only her, Kiyotaka, and Sakura were there, which was understandable given it was still over an hour before the agreed upon time.

"Yeah, I know, but the fundraiser was extremely successful," he said, unable to keep himself from smiling. He'd volunteered at a rally to raise money for local homeless shelters while offering free rice meals to anyone who needed them. The operation ran past midnight, and temperatures had dropped below freezing, with wind chill to boot.

"You should be more careful about overworking yourself!" Kiyotaka lectured, "I understand you're doing good for this world, but you need to look out for yourself too! If something—"

"That's enough, Ishimaru," Sakura interrupted, "What's done is done, and he was still able to show up to help prepare." The Ultimate Moral Compass tried stammering a response before giving up and going back to the tables under the pavilion.

"It's going to be a while before the others arrive, are you sure you'll be okay?" Kyoko asked.

"I'll be fine, Kirigiri," Makoto assured, "It's nowhere near as cold as last night, and even if something does happen, I trust in everyone to help me."

"Very well," the Ultimate Detective responded, "But if it comes to that, you'll probably never live it down."

"I understand," Makoto said, a smile on his face, "While we're waiting, should we brainstorm some ideas?" Kyoko nodded, and the two joined the others under the pavilion.

"I...don't think the school would let us use the gym or the cafeteria," Aoi said, responding to Mondo's suggestion.

"We could still ask," he retorted, "Besides, Kirigiri, isn't your dad the headmaster?" Kyoko shot down his suggestion, though.

"My father and I have a strained relationship, to put it simply. I don't intend to ask any favors of him." Mondo sighed, reclining and resting his feet on the table, much to Kiyotaka's chagrin. Makoto, meanwhile, wasn't paying much attention to anyone. His thoughts were cloudy and he felt like he could barely stay awake. So maybe Kyoko had been right to suggest he stay home, being in the chilly weather seemed to be making him worse. He coughed loudly, feeling the built-up mucus dislodge a bit, and realized the park had gone silent. Through his blurry vision, the Ultimate Lucky Student saw everyone staring at him.

"Did you have something to share, Naegi?" Byakuya demanded, glaring at him.

"No, I just—" was all he could get out in a raspy voice before he started coughing violently again, causing Kyoko to sigh.

"I warned you, did I not?" she asked. Makoto nodded. He tried to speak, but found it too difficult, so he pulled out his phone, taking the opportunity to create a group chat with his 15 classmates.

**Makoto:** _I think it's best I head back to the forms_

**Makoto:** _Dorms*_

"Someone should accompany him, and I wouldn't mind volunteering," Mukuro piped up after reading the message.

"I don't think that'd be the best," Sayaka said, "You do tend to get in trouble with the teachers, so they might think you did something. Meanwhile, I've known Naegi since junior high school, so I think I should—"

"Before this turns into a full blown argument between the two of you, I think we should let Kirigiri take him," Sakura interjected.

"I-I agree, she is the headmaster's daughter, so the teachers would probably trust her the most," Chihiro stammered.

"Well-said, bro," Leon smiled, proud that the recluse was breaking out of his shell.

"If the majority of people are okay with it, I have no objections," Kyoko said. Makoto stood up, and nearly collapsed into the detective. He typed away at his phone again.

**Makoto:** _Can you carry m by yourdelf, or should someone elde cometoo?_

"Good point, you're so weak you can barely type coherently, how can you walk all the way back to the school?" Yasuhiro said, his face full of shock as if he'd found an earth-shattering revelation.

"In that case, I'll take Ishimaru along. I trust Ogami can keep everyone in line during his brief leave," she said.

"I, too, trust our class vice-representative," Kiyotaka said, "Let us take Naegi back, we shall return in approximately twenty to twenty-five minutes." The two supported Makoto, one arm each, and walked him back to the school.

As the two most trusted students, none of the teachers asked why Kiyotaka and Kyoko were practically dragging a barely-conscious Makoto through the halls. After bringing him into the nurse's office, Kyoko said she and the nurse could handle the situation from here, allowing the class representative to return to the park.

"He really should be more careful," the nurse said, continuing as she turned to a nearby student, "Kimura, can you get some basic painkillers for him?"

"Yes, sensei," the Ultimate Pharmacist said from behind her respirator mask, rummaging around the cabinet behind her. She scribbled a note down and handed it to Kyoko. "Take him back to his room, and leave this note on his nightstand so he'll see it." The note gave instructions on when and how much medicine was to be taken.

"I will, thank you. However, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you lend me a hand with carrying him?" she asked.

"If it's okay with sensei, I wouldn't mind helping," the pharmacist accepted. After receiving permission from the nurse, the two carried the now asleep Makoto to his room.

"Thank you, Kimura," Kyoko said as the duo placed the Ultimate Lucky Student into bed, the medicine on the nightstand.

"It's no problem," she responded from behind her mask. As the pharmacist turned to leave, Kyoko spoke up again.

"Wait, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"It's about your friends, Ando and Izayoi," Kyoko said, doing her best to keep herself collected. "Despite the Academy having a rule against first-years dating, they seemed to be an exception to this rule. Why is that?"

"Well, the rule isn't exactly specific to first-years, it applies to students taking part in Dr. Monokuma's experiment who haven't gone through yet," she explained. Of course, Kyoko knew about the experiment. Dr. Kira Monokuma, along with some friends, had developed a way to send people into a virtual world. Kyoko didn't know the specifics of it, but the machine involved keeping the test subject in a perfect state of stasis, stopping all bodily functions, and preserving the body for over a month. That, along with its ability to manipulate memories while within it, made it a marvel of futuristic technology. As the Ultimate Psychologist, the doctor used the machine to run experiments on subjects too dangerous to test in the real world.

"My question still stands," Kyoko said.

"I was getting to that part, sorry," Kimura continued, "The machine only wipes memories obtained after students attend Hope's Peak. Since Ruruka and Sonosuke were dating before they came here, they were allowed to continue dating before the experiment."

"I see, thank you," Kyoko said as the older student left. Once she was alone, she turned to the sleeping Makoto.

"Knowing you, I'll find you as remarkable in the experiment as you are here and now," she muttered to herself, wishing Makoto could hear her and also hoping he couldn't, "It's only 7 months, I think I can wait that long." With that, she left Makoto's room, letting the door click shut behind her.


	2. Day 2: Puzzle

"Kyoko!" a familiar voice called out. The Ultimate Detective turned, and saw Makoto running up to her. He stopped, panting, and held up a slip of paper.

"What's this?" she asked, taking the piece.

"I'd explain, but I'm a bit preoccupied, even I can only handle the paparazzi for so long," he said. As if on cue, a familiar voice called out from the back of the hall,

"Hey! He's over here!" Makoto's eyes went wide.

"Sorry, gotta go," he said with a bow before running towards the dorms. From the hall came a swarm of journalists and news crews, followed by Sakakura, Great Gozu, Ogami, and the rest of the security team, chasing them down. As the parade left her view, Kyoko looked down at the paper. On one side was a crude drawing of a well, and on the other was a written statement:

Who we defeated

The detective found it confusing at first, but quickly realized it was referring to Danganronpa, the name given to the game as it premiered worldwide. The Killing Game was Dr. Monokuma's experiment, and after the game of Class 76 was recorded and broadcast online to overwhelming popularity, Hope's Peak decided to broadcast the game as a live event, allowing extra funding for the school.

"Well, we defeated Monokuma, who hosted the game, but the mastermind was revealed to be Junko..." she thought. The detective opted to go with the latter first, hoping the media circus running through the school wasn't scaring her off too.

After making sure the reporters were cleared away from the dorm area, Kyoko walked up to Junko's door and knocked. The door cracked open, but not fully.

"Just give me a minute," she heard Junko say.

"Of course," Kyoko responded, to which the door closed. After a few moments, Junko opened the door with a wide smile, looking like she'd just run a marathon.

"What'd ya need?" she asked.

"Makoto handed me a piece of paper, and I'm assuming he's sending me on a scavenger hunt," the detective explained, "I'm pretty sure the clue on the paper said to come and see you."

"You figured right! He told me to give you this piece of paper if you asked," Junko cheered, reaching into her pocket (at least, Kyoko hoped it was her pocket) and pulled out another slip of paper. On the front was the letter U, and on the back it read:

The first person I was blamed for

Kyoko quickly deduced that the card was referring to Sayaka, as Makoto had been the initial suspect in her death.

"Thank you, Junko. I'll leave you to whatever you were doing before I came here," Kyoko said, but she was stopped before she could leave.

"Actually, I've been watching interviews with the Detective Prince," she said, catching Kyoko's attention, "Why don't you stick around and watch some with me?"

"Which one?" she asked, her inner fangirl showing itself.

"Obviously the greatest one, Goro Akechi," Junko revealed. Kyoko's excitement disappeared, turning to anger.

"That mop-headed twink has nothing on Naoto Shirogane. He's more stuck up than the entire Togami family, and his investigative skills are subpar. Good day." With that, she turned and left Junko shocked at her sudden outburst.

"Excuse me, Sayaka?" Kyoko asked, entering the A/V room. The Ultimate Pop Sensation was seated at one of the computers, along with Leon and a student with black, white, blue, and pink hair that Kyoko didn't recognize, likely one of the new first-years.

"Oh! Hi Kyoko!" Sayaka greeted, "Ibuki and I were helping Leon out with his singing." So, the student was named Ibuki.

"It's a work in progress, but Ibuki thinks Leon might be able to become a decent singer before he graduates!" The unfamiliar student shouted.

"A bit harsh, but also oddly inspiring," Leon muttered to himself.

"Anyways, did you need something?" Sayaka asked. Kyoko nodded, and explained the situation thus far.

"Oh yeah! Makoto gave me this and told me to give it to you when you came to pick it up." The idol handed yet another piece of paper to the detective. On one side was a drawing of a bumblebee, and the other side had the next clue:

The person I took the fall for you for

"The wording is weird on this one," she thought. After a moment of brainstorming, she hazarded a guess. When Mukuro was "killed" in the garden, Makoto withheld the fact that he knew about the skeleton key Kyoko had stolen. It had nearly cost him his life in the trial, but by a stroke of luck, Chihiro had managed to hack Alter Ego back into the game, stopping the giant press before it crushed Makoto.

"By the way, while you're here, we've started a petition," Leon announced. Kyoko raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"What for?" she asked. Leon turned to the computer and printed out the document.

"Remember during the headmaster's speech, when he mixed up our class with the 78th Class?" Sayaka asked, continuing after Kyoko gave a nod, "Well, we're starting a petition for our class to be known as Class 78, and the class after us to become Class 77."

"Might I ask why?" the detective asked.

"Mr. Kirigiri said after the speech that he hopes people forget it ever happened, and had the footage of the interview edited so the slip-up wasn't heard. So we're exposing the truth," Ibuki explained.

"Think we can get your signature on it? I'm sure a lot of students would be swayed if the headmaster's daughter was for it," Leon asked. Kyoko thought it over for a moment. She'd been working on mending her relationship with her father, but he was trying to save face over something so trivial.

"I don't see why not. I doubt it'll get anywhere anyway, and even if something does happen, I can't imagine anything terrible will come of it," she said, grabbing the printed document and signing her name on the top line.

"Thank you so much, we'll be known as Class 77 in no time!" Ibuki cheered as the others signed their name. Kyoko couldn't help but chuckle at the remark.

"It's really not that big a deal. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find Mukuro."

Mukuro's room was in the far corner of the dormitory area, near the incinerator room. Junko and Mukuro, being the two masterminds, specifically requested it not be included, as one of them would be staying in the control room the entire time (at least, that was supposed to be the plan, until Junko betrayed Mukuro in the game). Kyoko knocked on the door, and it opened a crack. She saw Mukuro peek out, her face red.

"Is something the matter?" Kyoko asked the Ultimate Soldier.

"You're smart enough, if I figured it out, you'll figure it out," Mukuro said sharply, throwing the slip of paper down the hall. It nearly scraped across Kyoko's ear, and by the time she realized it, the door had been slammed shut in her face. Confused, she went down the hall to the card, embedded in the floor past Leon's room. The front had a picture of an eye, and the back contained the next clue:

The person who put us through it all

"Okay, this one is Dr. Monokuma," she reasoned. Curious about Mukuro's behavior, the detective decided to go along until she couldn't get any more clues before piecing them together.

As the elevator doors to the lab opened, Kyoko was surprised to see her father and the doctor leaving.

"Oh! Hello Kyoko!" Monokuma greeted in his unusually high-pitched voice. His hair was dyed half black and half white, and his permanently bloodshot eye was as prominent as ever.

"Hello doctor, father," Kyoko responded, "I believe Makoto gave you something to give me?"

"Why yes he did, and I see what's going on," he chuckled. As the tall, slender man stooped down to give her the card, he whispered, "Don't worry. I haven't told your father." Kyoko accepted the card, somewhat confused, and read it. The front had the sign of Venus and a drawing of a pack of french fries. The back read:

The spy who saved us

Well, that was obviously Sakura. Before going to find the fighter, Kyoko remembered something her father might want to know.

"By the way, someone said something about editing out your slip-up from the speech for the official version?" she asked the headmaster. Jin Kirigiri nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, I might have adjusted a thing or two for accuracy. No harm, no foul, right?" he said, weakly defending his actions.

"Well, I figured I should warn you that the students managed to learn of this, and have started a petition to swap the names of the 77th and 78th Class, 'for accuracy,'" Kyoko revealed. Her father's face went nearly as pale as Kyoko herself.

"Thank you for informing me of this instead of signing it, I'll make sure to—"

"Slow down," the detective interrupted, "Who says I didn't sign it?" Jin fell silent, his brain processing the information, while Monokuma laughed his admittedly somewhat annoying laugh.

"D-Did you actually sign it?" the doctor asked between chuckles. His laugh only grew louder when Kyoko nodded her head in confirmation.

"Sometimes, we make mistakes. With ones as minor as this, it's best to own up to it, so I signed it to teach you so. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find Sakura," she lectured, before promptly turning heel and going to the gym.

The gym was filled with the sounds of cheers and a general ruckus. Kyoko opened the door, to find the Juzo Sakakura, Great Gozu, and three other security members fighting against Sakura. With no limitations on available moves, the Ultimate Martial Artist used techniques alien to boxing and wrestling, holding her own against the group. Surrounding the brawl was the rest of the security team, cheering for one side or the other. Kyoko moved into the crowd, watching the fight go down, wondering how long it would be before anyone noticed her. After about 5 minutes, she finally locked eyes with Great Gozu, who loudly stopped the fight with his greeting.

"Ah! Ms. Kirigiri!" his voice boomed throughout the gym. Everyone turned to look at her, and scrambled in an attempt to make it look like they weren't just hosting a fight that would be frowned upon by the higher-ups.

"Hello Gozu, Sakakura. I believe Sakura has something for me?" she inquired. Sakura, initially stunned at the detectives unexpected entrance, regained her composure.

"I gave it to Hina to hold on to during our fight," she said, turning and waving the swimmer over from across the gym.

"You did great! I'm sure you can fight all of them, Mukuro, and Nekomaru all at once!" she cheered, wrapping her arms around the fighter. Sakura chuckled and took the card from Aoi, who snuck in a kiss on her cheek as she bent down.

"Are you two dating now?" Kyoko inquired. Aoi nodded excitedly.

"Yes we are!" she cheered, cuddling up to Sakura's side. For the first time ever, Kyoko saw Sakura blush from her girlfriend's antics.

"It's a fairly recent thing, and we're not quite ready to share it with everyone yet, but I think we can trust you," she said, handing Kyoko the paper. The front had what appeared to be a code:

1:E=I/4:M+/5:-S+ND

While the back had one question:

Yes or no? Give me your answer in the library.

"Do you have any idea how to translate this cipher?" she asked out loud. Sakura smiled.

"Makoto filled us in on his plan. Just look at them all, and use the card I gave you to replace, add, and remove. I know you'll figure it out." Kyoko studied the card intently, wondering if the code was a date according to the slashes.

"Thank you, Sakura, and congratulations. I'll leave you to your fights now, I need to figure out what this code means," she said, leaving for the library. As soon as the gym doors closed behind her, she heard the sounds of the brawl starting up again.

"Considering the pictures, maybe it's a Rebus puzzle?" Kyoko thought as she climbed the stairs to the 2nd floor. Going with that line of logic, she tried deciphering the problem.

"Well, u, so you, bee, so be, eye is I, and...Venus fries? Well you be I Venus fries… maybe it means female, or girl, so well you be I girl fries… no, wait," Kyoko's thought process clicked just as she rested her hand on the handle for the library. Makoto wouldn't come up with some complex code, that's not the kind of stuff he'd do. It wouldn't be too far fetched, however, for him to remove some parts of the puzzle for someone to put in later. The numbers and slashes weren't for a date, they were which cards the given sequence was for and a divider between each. She arrived at the solution as the door opened.

Well, E=I, becomes Will

U, is you

Bee, be

M+eye, is my

Girl+fries-S+ND. Girlfriend.

Kyoko felt her face flush as she realized what Makoto had been asking. She looked up just in time for him to turn around, his face also quite red.

"W-Well? D-Do you have your a-answer?" he managed to stammer out. Kyoko failed to hold back a smile.

"Yes. Yes, I do," she said, managing to resist the urge to get much more excited about the scenario. Makoto smiled as well, the biggest smile she'd ever seen on his face. Unlike Kyoko, Makoto couldn't hold himself back, and he bolted across the library, wrapping his arms around the detective. Immediately after, realization must've sunk in, and he quickly freed her, about to apologize, when Kyoko pulled him back into the embrace.

"I've always wanted to say this," Makoto said under his breath, "I love you, Kyoko." Kyoko pulled back to look the Ultimate Lucky Student in the eye.

"I love you too, Makoto. I have for a while now."

"By the way, what was with the roundabout way of confessing to me?" Kyoko asked as the couple left the library. Thankfully, it had been empty for their proclamations, but the taller of the two was hesitant to show affection in public.

"I knew you liked puzzles, so I decided to make one of my own. What'd you think of it?" Makoto asked. Kyoko gave a small smile.

"It was fun. I had a lot of fun solving it."


	3. Day 3: Stars

"So, why did you want to meet me on the roof the night before we have to start the move?" Kyoko asked. Spring Break had just started, and the students would spend the next days loading moving trucks to live at the larger, improved Hope's Peak building in Shibuya. While most of the students were fast asleep as the sun disappeared past the horizon, Makoto had messaged Kyoko telling her to meet on the rooftop.

"Well, Shibuya has an active nightlife, so there's likely to be higher amounts of light pollution, so the night sky won't be as visible," he explained, "I felt like we should spend our last night here looking up at the stars." Kyoko chuckled at his idea.

"So one last date before we become third-year students?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

"I guess you could put it like that. I already brought some blankets," he gestured to his backpack, two rolled-up comforters sticking out of the open zipper.

"And how exactly are we supposed to get back to our rooms? I'm sure security would find it quite suspicious if two students, known to be in a relationship, were up past curfew alone on the roof."

"I got the key from Kizakura. He said he'd watch out for us, and keep an eye on us through the cameras."

"So he's going to call you and guide us back to the dorms, telling us when to hide and go so we don't get caught by the night watch? And why would he do this for you? Did he owe you a favor?"

"I volunteered to help him pack up his room, and got Mondo and Leon to help, since they had nothing to do. He'll walk us back to the dorms, and if any security guards see us, he'll say that we stayed late and we were the ones who helped him pack."

Kyoko thought it through. It sounded plausible enough, despite Kizakura's affinity towards alcohol.

"You know I'll be pissed if this doesn't go according to plan," the detective said, unfurling one of the blankets.

"If something does go wrong, I'll take the fall," Makoto assured, rolling out the other blanket. "Plus, if we did get caught, your father would probably make sure I did," he added under his breath.

After exhausting a few idle conversation topics they thought of, the sky was dark enough for the stars to shine brightly. The height of Hope's Peak, towering over the surrounding area, allowed stars to be seen clearly in all directions.

"Over there, to the west," Makoto pointed out, "There's Orion, you can see the belt." Kyoko looked over, connecting the imaginary lines between the stars. It was one of the more recognizable asterisms.

"And of course, Betelgeuse is just above it," she added, taking note of the red supergiant.

"Don't say it two more times," Makoto joked, despite neither of them having seen the movie. Kyoko then pointed a bit south of the hunter.

"And of course, the brightest star in the sky, Sirius," she said. Makoto nodded, and shifted direction.

"There's also the Big Dipper, of course. You know the way to find Polaris from it, right?" he asked, continuing after Kyoko nodded. "If you follow the other two stars that make up the cup, going the opposite way, you'll find Regulus, the heart of the lion in Leo. It's about triple the radius of the sun, and about 27 times its volume."

"Is that so?" the detective asked.

"Yep. I had to look up a few things, and it was hard keeping track of the numbers, but Regulus has a volume of..." he stopped for a moment, pulled his phone out of his pocket, checked the notepad app he had, and continued, "...38,050,350,116,433,874,650 cubic kilometers. Give or take."

"Impressive. Almost enough to fit Byakuya's ego," Kyoko joked, earning a laugh out of Makoto.

"Of course, even if my heart were as big as Leo's heart, it would still only hold a fraction of how much I love you," Makoto said, silencing the detective. Kyoko felt her face flush, realizing why her boyfriend had wanted to stargaze.

"You did all this just so you could use that line on me, didn't you?" she asked, trying to hide her face. The Ultimate Lucky Student confessed.

"Yep. I was looking up constellations out of boredom, and saw that Regulus represented a heart, and I somehow came up with it at that point and decided I should see your reaction," he explained. The two looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and Kyoko decided to make the next move.

"It is pretty cold up here," she said, hoping Makoto would understand.

"Yeah, it kinda is. Here, take my jacket."

Apparently, Makoto did not understand. As he sat up to shed his coat, Kyoko put her arm over him, keeping him down. She moved in close, and Makoto finally realized what she meant.

"Oh...yeah, I probably should've realized that," he said, snuggling up to his girlfriend.

"You dork," Kyoko giggled, pressing her head against his chest. Kyoko thought back on their relationship. They'd been together for nearly a year, with Makoto telling Kyoko he would be ready for her to be comfortable with making progress in their relationship. Their physical contact was limited to quick hugs for a while, and she'd grown comfortable with cuddling around November. She looked up at Makoto, figuring she was willing to advance further.

"You know how you said you were comfortable with me choosing to progress our relationship?" she asked, her eyes locked with his.

"Yes, and I still feel that way," he said reassuringly.

"In that case," Kyoko started, before scooching up and sharing a first kiss with her boyfriend. Or at least, she tried to. Interpreting Kyoko's movement as wanting the two of them to move up the blanket, Makoto had moved back too, resulting in Kyoko kissing the bottom of his chin. Realizing what was going on a bit too late, Makoto tried to return the kiss, but missed his target, instead kissing Kyoko's top lip. The two moved back from each other, realized what had happened, and burst out laughing.

"Well, so much for a perfect first kiss," Makoto said between laughs. Neither of them knew why they were laughing so hard, maybe it was the stress of finals being gone, maybe it was out of tiredness, they weren't sure.

"Shall we have a do-over?" Kyoko asked. With a nod, the two moved closer together, planting a proper kiss on each other's lips.

"C'mon you two," a familiar voice said. Kyoko opened her eyes, and realized she'd fallen asleep next to Makoto. Scared at what time it might be, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the moon was still towards the east. She looked up to meet Koichi Kizakura shaking the two awake.

"I assume we fell asleep?" the detective yawned as she sat up.

"Indeed you did. I figured I should probably lead you two back to the dorms before it got too late," the scout said. Beside Kyoko, Makoto yawned and stretched.

"Thanks, Mr. Kizakura," he said, "I wouldn't want Kyoko to get in trouble because of me."

"Don't mention it, kid. Now get those blankets put away, and come along," he commanded. Once the comforters were rolled up, Makoto put his backpack back on and the two followed Koichi back through the school to their rooms.

Right as they got to their respective dorms, a security guard came around the corner. Thinking quickly, the talent scout called out to the two students.

"Thanks for the help. I don't think I could've gotten all that junk sorted by myself before we moved." The guard nodded, satisfied with his interpretation of the events, and continued his patrol, paying no mind to Makoto's pack.

"Thanks for the help, Mr. Kizakura," Makoto said, handing the roof key back.

"Don't mention it. I remember when I was young, and I'd say you two had a pretty good first kiss up there," he teased.

"How did you know it was our first?" Makoto asked.

"Likely because of how awkward it was," Kyoko deduced. Koichi nodded, confirming her line of reasoning.

"Not everyone gets a perfect first kiss, but the first kiss is always memorable. You two get some sleep now, big day tomorrow."

"Of course. Thanks again!" Makoto said. The scout left for the teacher's dorms, and the two students faced each other.

"I'd love to stay up and chat, but we do need to sleep," Kyoko said, a tinge of disappointment in her voice.

"Yeah, you're right," Makoto sighed. The two opened their respective doors, and faced each other one last time.

"I love you, Makoto," Kyoko said.

"I love you too, Kyoko," Makoto replied. The two entered their rooms, and the doors closed behind them.


	4. Day 4: Plant

"I still don't quite understand why a school for people with Ultimate Talents has a talent show," Makoto confessed. He and Kyoko were in the audience, watching their underclassmen perform.

"According to my father, it's to allow students to demonstrate that they have talents other than their Ultimate Talent," Kyoko explained, "He usually frowns upon people performing their own talents, but he'll sometimes make exceptions depending on what they plan to do, like Sayaka's plan this year."

"Her plan?" someone sitting behind them asked. The couple turned around and met the gaze of a student with pink hair and a yellow-green jumpsuit.

"Oh! You're one of the winners of the last Killing Game!" Makoto said, trying to recall the name.

"Kazuichi Soda, the Ultimate Mechanic," Kyoko reminded.

"Yes! That's it!" Makoto exclaimed.

"Glad to see I've grown somewhat famous," Kazuichi grinned, "So what's this plan you're talking about?"

"I won't spoil the surprise of it, but she's performing a song with some of the girls in our class," Makoto revealed. "They're the only performance of our class, so once your classmates are done, you'll get to see."

"I feel like that might be somewhat spoiling the surprise," Sakura warned from the row in front of the couple, Hina sitting beside her.

"Speaking of classmates, Miss Sonia's up next!" the mechanic cheered. Everyone turned to the stage, where the princess was overseeing people moving large panes of glass. She stepped onto the sheet in the center, a large duffel bag in her hand, and inspected the edges to make sure it was closed off.

"For our next performance, and the last performance from Class 77, it's the Ultimate Princess, Ms. Sonia Nevermind. She will be performing a dance to a Finnish polka," the announcer spoke. The music started, sounding more like heavy metal than polka, while Sonia reached into the bag.

"What's with the glass?" Makoto asked. Before Kyoko could answer him, a gunshot rang out.

Within the box of bulletproof glass, Sonia was dancing along to a metal cover of the Ievan Polkka, wielding two pistols that she fired in time with the beat. Everyone looked on, stunned, as she gracefully twirled the guns, reloading them with high speed and precision during certain breaks in the song. After about three minutes, the surrounding glass was covered in webs of cracks, and the music came to an end. Sonia put the smoking pistols back in the bag, and bowed. For a moment, everyone was silent. The silence was broken by Gundham, sitting a few seats back and over, started clapping. He was the only one until a plain-looking boy in the first-year section joined in, and that slowly got the rest of the audience showering Sonia with applause.

"I didn't realize she was so good with weapons handling," Kyoko remarked, "I'll have to ask her about that."

"It was really impressive, what did you think, Soda?" Makoto asked, turning around. Kazuichi was pale in the face, staring at the same spot.

"I think she was aiming at me, more than a few times..." he said. Makoto followed his gaze, and the glass did seem significantly more damaged in the one spot on which he was entranced.

"Hasn't she made complaints about you before? About how you keep trying to flirt with her?" Aoi asked, sealing Kazuichi's mouth.

As the sheets of glass were transported off stage, the announcer spoke up again.

"And now for our closing act, we have Junko Enoshima, Mukuro Ikusaba, Celestia Ludenberg, and Sayaka Maizono from Class 78 performing a song called 'Lifelight' by Hideki Sakamoto!" As the four walked on stage, Kazuichi spoke to the couple again.

"Do you know what song this is? I've never heard of it," he said, somewhat loudly.

"It's a good song, trust us," Makoto said with a smirk. The opening bars started, and the spotlight shone on Sayaka.

_Colors weave into a spire of flame_

On either side of her, two pillars lit up with neon rainbows of color, spinning around before the images changed to fiery cones.

_Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_

_Bear this torch against the cold of the night_

_Search your soul and reawaken the undying light/_

The pillars shut off, and the spotlights danced across the stage as the instrumentals played. Just before the next lyrics came in, they stopped on the pop sensation.

_On that day when the sky fell away_

_Our world came to an end_

The spotlight shut off, enveloping the theater in darkness.

_In our eyes did a fading sun rise_

_In the dark glimmering shadows/_

As she sang the last line, Junko had joined in, the spotlight rising from the bottom of the stage to showcase the two. Upon completion of the verse, Sayaka left the shine, giving Junko her solo.

_Silence grows in the spaces between_

_Stretching out beyond time_

_Rising up as a chorus of souls finds a voice_

_flickering through the void/_

In time with the music, yellow LEDs on a web draped behind the quartet blinked on and off.

_These little sparks cling on to life_

_Everyone caught in the struggle_

Fans from behind the web turned on, causing the lights to dance wildly.

_And then the storms of change they fan the flames_

_Scattering ashes to the wind/_

The LEDs turned off as the flaming pillars returned, and Celeste joined in to transition to her verses, throwing specks of torn-up paper into the fans path, scattering the "ashes."

_Every soul contains a whisper of light_

_Gleaming faintly as it dwindles from sight_

Celeste turned on a small red LED light attached to her outfit during the first line, turning it off at the next so as to let it slowly dim.

_No escape no greater fate to be made_

_In the end, the chains of time will not break/_

The pillars changed from the inferno to nothing, followed by spinning chains locking in place for a moment before they ignited for the chorus again.

_Colors weave into a spire of flame_

_Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_

_Bear this torch against the cold of the night_

_Search your soul and reawaken the undying light/_

Mukuro joined in on the last line, starting her solo of the next couple verses.

_As fate spins a thread without end_

The flames changed to thin, white strands, contrasting against the black pillars.

_New life draws its first breath_

_Blossoming in a soil reclaimed from the past_

The wisps were replaced by images of buds breaking through the surface of the soil.

_Where destiny holds fast/_

_Here where we stand hand clenched in hand_

_Everyone caught in the struggle_

Mukuro emphasized the first line of the new verse by wringing her hands tightly together. In one fluid motion, she turned the locked hands into fists as she sang the second line.

_This is the day we finally find our way_

_Stepping into our tomorrow/_

The soldier stomped one foot in front of her as the pillars showed a rising sun over the sprout. The order for singing having cycled back to Sayaka, she turned on a red LED positioned over her heart, akin to the one Celeste had, and took over for Mukuro.

_Every soul contains a whisper of light_

The second half of the verse was sung in tandem with Celeste as she turned on her LED, and the duo continued together.

_Growing louder as it calls to unite_

Mimicking the gambler, Junko and Mukuro jumped in halfway through the line, their lights on, and the four continued through the rest of the verses.

_From the distance sings a chorus of souls_

_Rising slowly stirring heat from the coals/_

The pillars switched from the sunrise to burning coals.

_Colors weave into a spire of flame_

The depicted embers shot up the post, back into the neon rainbow and towering flames.

_Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_

_Bear this torch against the cold of the night_

_Light will guide you on your way to the ultimate fight/_

The instrumentals played, and Makoto turned to Kyoko.

"Ready?" he asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"Of course I am, and I'm certain you are too," his girlfriend said with a small smile. She gave him a quick smooch on the cheek as she pinned the apparatus to her shirt. Makoto did the same, taking notice of the rest of the class following suit.

_Every soul contains a whisper of light_

As the four on stage sang, Makoto, Kyoko, Sakura, and Aoi stood up, ready to fulfill their role as performers planted in the audience.

_Growing louder as it calls to unite_

The line was sung by the tetrad in the audience, turning heads to the back of the auditorium. The spotlight shifted towards stage right, where Kiyotaka, Mondo, Leon, and Chihiro were stood, singing the next line.

_From the distance sings a chorus of souls_

Focusing on the last group on the right of the audience, Byakuya, Toko, Hifumi, and Yasuhiro sang the last line of the verse.

_Rising slowly stirring heat from the coals/_

The four spotlights on stage divvied up between the four groups, as they aimed colored flashlights in the air, the beams visible through fog that had been dispensed throughout the hall. They pivoted the beacons around, creating cones of color supporting the ceiling.

_Colors weave into a spire of flame_

_Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_

_Bear this torch against the cold of the night_

_Light will guide you on your way to the ultimate fight/_

As they sang the last line, all 16 of the third year students held their flashlights high and steady. Makoto had used his left hand for the final presentation, his right hand resting in Kyoko's left.


	5. Day 5: Fidget

Kyoko was used to the interrogation room by now. Even before she graduated from Hope's Peak, she would question suspects and persons of interest here. The biggest difference, however, was that she was usually the one asking the questions.

"Look, we all know you had nothing to do with it, but we've got to follow standard procedure," Detective Saihara said. He'd attended Hope's Peak the year after Kyoko's graduation, taking her title of Ultimate Detective.

"I'm aware," Kyoko said. She noticed she had started subconsciously bouncing her leg. She rested her elbow on it as she willed the twitch to stop.

"Where were you at 6:00 pm last night, even though we were all with you?" he asked.

"I was here, which can be confirmed by you, Chihiro, Futaba, and Kiyotaka, to name a fraction of the people I was with," she answered. Kiyotaka had followed in his father's footsteps after graduation, becoming a well-respected police officer. Chihiro, on the other hand, had landed himself a job in the cyber crime division, tracking evidence from online, along with his girlfriend, Futaba Sakura. The two had dated since Chihiro final year, and they'd been nearly unstoppable since then, never letting a lead go cold.

"That we can confirm," Shuichi sighed, "Moving on, when was the last time you saw or heard from Makoto Naegi?"

"I last saw him the previous morning, at approximately 10:00 am. I last heard from him when he called me, telling me that he was in danger. When I asked him what was going on, I heard the phone fall, and the line went dead." As she spoke. Kyoko found herself twiddling with the pendant around her neck, the ring intertwined with it.

"Agent Fujisaki traced the call back to his house, where there were signs of forced entry and a struggle. Did Makoto have any enemies who would want to kidnap him?" Kyoko thought the question through. All of their classmates had been fans of his, and when the news broke, they all showed shock and worry. Makoto's students at Hope's Peak, meanwhile, were all good kids, and according to Byakuya, they were all equally as concerned for their teacher's safety.

"Nobody that I'm aware of. However, he may have made some enemies due to his fame. Although, I can't imagine who."

"Thank you, Kyoko," Shuichi said, "I know how much you love your fiancé, and I know that we'll find him if it's the last thing we do." Kyoko squeezed the ring tightly, feeling tears form as she remembered when Makoto gave it to her.


	6. Day 6: Flutter

It was only a few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning. Kyoko had the day off, and Makoto had decided to treat her to a date at Leblanc, where they'd become regulars.

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of the curry here," Makoto commented, patting his stomach in satisfaction. Kyoko took a sip of her drink, then responded.

"And I'd say Haru's mastered the coffee," she said, knowingly a little too loud.

"Thank you, Kirigiri," the former Phantom Thief said, giving a small bow. She'd played a vital role in their battles against the Tricksters back during the Ultimates' third year.

"Kyoko, I actually have somewhere else I want to take you," the Former Ultimate Lucky Student said, a look of excitement in his eye. Kyoko was puzzled at the statement. Makoto had left her in charge of keeping track of their funds, and there were no changes that would suggest somewhere paid.

"I'm assuming somewhere like a park?" she asked. Makoto smiled, casually throwing his arms up in defeat.

"You got it. Nothing gets past you, Ms. Detective," he joked, "It's a bit of a drive, though, so we should get going." The two, having paid upon ordering, bid the barista adieu and started their journey.

"Wake up, we're here," Makoto said, gently shaking Kyoko's shoulder. She'd apparently fallen asleep in the car, a rare occurrence for her.

"So where exactly is 'here' if I may ask?" the detective inquired, taking in her surroundings. They had been driving all day, given that the sun had started to set. The large, open field they were in seemed vaguely familiar, but something was missing.

"I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out. You are the _Ultimate_ Detective, after all." With the obvious clue, Kyoko deduced where they could be. Mentally picturing her thoughts confirmed it.

"This is where the old Hope's Peak was," she realized. During the years they'd been away from the place, the building had been torn down.

"This place is now a field often used for picnics and fireworks," Makoto explained, "but this is still the place where we met, the place where we fell in love, the place where we started dating, the place where we first kissed..." he trailed off in reminisce. Kyoko recalled those memories, feeling her heart flutter as they progressed.

"So why did you want to come here now?" she asked, "Just to daydream?" Makoto shook his head, staring off into the sunset.

"More to give us another thing about this place to remember." As he spoke, he turned to his girlfriend, dropping onto one knee in the same motion. Before Kyoko could process what was going on, he'd pulled out a box, larger than a ring box. As her heart beat faster, Makoto continued. "I know you're always wearing your gloves, so a ring wouldn't be the best, so maybe this will be a suitable replacement." He pushed the box open, revealing a golden necklace, the chain looped around a golden ring encircling a small amethyst on one side and a piece of pink tourmaline on the other. The detective felt her heart was about to burst right out of her chest, and tears formed in the corners of her eyes as Makoto asked one question.

"Kyoko Kirigiri, will you marry me?"


End file.
